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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25365076">Bunny up to Bat</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/VTsuion/pseuds/VTsuion'>VTsuion</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Raffles (TV 1977), Raffles - E. W. Hornung</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Sports, Bunny Manders Trying to Prove Himself, Cricket, Cricketer Bunny Manders, Established Relationship, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:06:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>564</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25365076</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/VTsuion/pseuds/VTsuion</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bunny knows he's just a lowly amateur compared to A.J. Raffles - a prince of amateurs if ever there was one - but when the time comes, he has to take this chance to prove that he's worthy to stand on the same pitch.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bunny Manders/A. J. Raffles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bunny up to Bat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I took a deep breath and stepped up to bat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Standing there, on the other side of the pitch, was none other than A.J. Raffles. He was bowler if ever there was one, and just as formidable with a bat. I was but a lowly amateur - he was technically an amateur too, but if he was an amateur then he was a prince among us. He fixed me with his cold grey eyes, now steely, though I could still envision them burning with passion as they had the night before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I held up my bat and stretched my tense fingers around the handle. My heart fluttered, but I couldn’t afford to make mistakes, not now, after begging to be allowed to come out and face him, even though I had no right to be out on the pitch. I knew it was just a move of desperation, something- anything to shake him, to break his streak. But for me it was more than that; a chance to prove that I could stand on the same pitch, that somehow, I could be his equal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Raffles!” I heard a woman shout from the crowd, cheering him on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then silence. The whole world seemed to wait. Just, me, Raffles, and the long dirt pitch. The wind pounded on my ears, making them numb.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At last, Raffles swung his arm and let the ball fly. My bat nearly fell out of my hands as I jolted into position. Seconds later, the ball whistled past and knocked against the wicket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I walked off the pitch in shame.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I spent long enough on the sidelines for my determination to return with a vengeance. We had hardly a chance of victory, but if I could stop one of Raffles’s bowls, then anything was possible. I never played with such fervor before, and I don’t think I have since. I strode onto the field like a new man, but my bat shook in my hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Raffles barely paid me any heed. Here, I was just another in a long line of batsmen. But I would show him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I readied my bat and tried to keep it steady.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wound up his arm and let loose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My body seemed to move of its own accord. For that instant, my arms knew where that ball would land and my bat was there to meet it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as my legs registered what was happening I ran between the wickets like I’ve never run before and stumbled over the popping crease just in time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I landed on my hands and knees, barely over the line. The cheers of my teammates thundered over the blood rushing in my ears. My head swam as I tried to catch my breath. A hand wavered into view, and I accepted it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To my surprise, it was Raffles who helped me to my feet. My breath, still uneven, hitched in my throat. He was looking at me with an almost sardonic crooked smile, but there was a familiar devilish spark in his eyes that sent shivers down my spine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then he clapped me on the shoulder like any sportsman and declared, “Well played, Bunny! I didn’t know you had it in you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Raffles!” was all I could stammer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I missed the next bowl by a mile, but I didn’t have it in me to mind.</span>
</p>
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